Rotary engine



(No Model.)

' D. E. SALTONSTALL.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Patented Dec. 23, 1884.

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DUDLEY E. SALTONSTALL, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,652, dated December 23, 1884-.

Application filed April 14, 1884. (N0 model.)

To 6LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DUDLEY E. SALTON- STALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

Myinvention has relation to improvements in rotary engines.

It consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of my engine, in which the rotary head and cap are shown in enlarged detail. Fig. 2 is an edge view of one of the blade-sections with the saddle in place. Fig. 8 is a face view of one of the blade-sections with the saddle and one yoke in place. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the yoke; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the saddle, part in sec tion, as will be described. Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the saddle on line at m, Fig. 5.

The casing A is provided with suitable caps, A, having bearings A for the revolving shaft. The casing also has inlet and exit ports B B.

The piston O and rotary heads D are con structed substantially like those shown in patent ofA. Noteman, No. 238,802, dated March 1.5, 1881, and are provided with coincident grooves or channels 0 D, to receive the blade presently described. This blade is composed of sections E E, forced apart by coil or other suitable springs, F. The outer edges of these sections are formed with a groove, G, curved in the are of a circle, as most clearly shown in Fig. 2, and they are provided on opposite sides, near their inner edges, with shoulders G, preferably rounded, as shown. The saddle H has the bearing-face H and the rounded side H". semicircular lugs H are projected from its opposite ends above the bearing-face, forming The yoke I is the cylindrical. ends shown.

provided in one side with a slot or mortise, I, having rounded ends and fitted to be placed over the end of the blade and the saddle, as shown. The blade works through the channel O in the piston, and the yokes work in the grooves D, formed in the rotary head. The yoke slides in the groove formed in the rotary head and its outer end, and lug H projects in said groove beyond the bearing-face of the casing. This construction, it will be seen, holds the parts firmly together, and yet permits the slight rocking of the saddle nec essary to permit the latter to conform to the cams in the cylinder-head.

In practice considerable difficulty has been experienced in constructing the saddle so that it would stand the strain of the work and not be otherwise objectionable. I have used saddles made of steel. These would stand the strain, but would rapidly out out the cams in the cylinder, and would also become soheated astobehighlyobjectionable. Thesamemight be said of wrought-iron and other of the harder class of metals. In my experiments I next turned to the bronzes and other anti-friction metals, such as cast-iron. In the use of these the objections above cited were not met with, but when running at ahigh speed the saddles would break transversely into sections. To overcome this difficulty I insert a steel or other strong rod, J, longitudinally through the saddle. This has the effect of to a great extent preventing the breakages of the saddle, as before described, and rendered practical the use of one made of soft anti-friction metal. It also served to hold the sections of the saddle together in case breakage should occur,- and prevented the same being thrown out of place and. the consequent damage to the machine, as would likely occur where no strengthening-rod was employed. By this means I not only rendered practical the use of a saddle made of anti-friction material, but enabled the operation of engines of this class at high speed without damage thereto, as will be understood from the description before given.

After experimenting with the various metals, I have determined that cast-iron is the best material from which to make the saddle, though I do not desire to be limited thereto, as it is obvious that other soft materials might IOO be used without involving a departure from the principles of my invention.

The strengthening-rod may be inserted when the saddle is cast, which is the preferred method, or it may be inserted after the casting by boring, &c., as will be appreciated.

I prefer to form the shoulder on the edge of the blade-section curved, as shown and described, as thereby both ends of the mortise in the yoke may be made alike, and it matters not which end thereof is placed over the cylindrical end of the saddle. However, where desired, the shoulder may be made of different shape, or the form of connection of the yoke with the blade may be varied at will. It is also obvious that the strengthened saddle may be supported in various ways from that shown and described without departing from the principles of my improved saddle.

It will be seen that the lugs H on opposite ends of the saddle, together with the concave seat in which the saddles rest, will serve to hold the parts without the use of the yokes. I prefer, however, the use of the yokes, as in cases where it is dispensed with when the springs between the blades-sections become weak there will be considerable lost motion, which is not experienced when the yoke is used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is I 1. A saddle for rotary engines, made of suitable anti-friction metal, and having a strengthening-rod inserted longitudinally therein, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a rotary engine, substantially as here in described, the combination, with the castiron saddle, of a strengthening-rod inserted longitudinally therein, substantially as specified.

8. The combination of the blade, the saddle seated in the outer edge of the blade, and the yokes placed over the ends of the blade and saddle, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with the blade having curved shoulders -on its opposite ends, and the saddle seated in the outer edges of said blade and provided with cylindrical ends, of the yokes having mortises formed with curved ends and fitted to the blade and saddle, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

' DUDLEY E. SALTONSTALL.

In presence of- O. B. SNIDER, RICHD. Varrn. 

